Hey there!
We’ve all had chatty classes before, but a few years ago my kiddos were having an even harder time than I was used to. I had tried my regular go-to strategies and they just weren’t working. So I started doing some research to find the support that I needed… I discovered BLURT BEANS!
What you need…
1. A container to hold your beans in waiting or lost beans
2. A clear container to show growth/goals/incentives
3. Beans
4. Containers for desk to hold the beans ( I bought stackable pill containers from the Dollar Tree and put wall Tac ‘N Stik under each of them to hold them on the desks.)
I made sure to let kids know that a busy body/body noises are like blurting too (clapping, clicking our mouths, snapping fingers, etc.) It’s not just words that can interrupt someone. Breaking that down and being specific was huge for my students. Also, having a child with Autism reminds me how important it is to fully explain expectations.
The stories I chose were:
“Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse”
“Interrupting Chicken”
“My Mouth is a Volcano”
“Lacey Walker, NONSTOP TALKER”
After two days of focused teaching about the effects of blurting on those around us and our learning, I decided to introduce Blurt Beans.
Implementing Blurt Beans
1. I put 4 beans in each kiddos blurt bin each morning.
2. Every time they have a blurt I hold the sign language letter “b” close to me, make eye contact and the kids go and put a blurt bean in the discard container. I have also quietly approached kids if they are not paying attention (ha ha)
3. At the end of the day I have all the kids come put their Blurt Beans in the Incentive Jar.
Incentives for Blurt Beans
I chose 4 incentives which I will change from time to time.
1. 10 minutes of extra recess
2. 20 minutes of free time
3. 30 minutes of extra recess
4. Popcorn & movie party!
Make that first incentive pretty easy to achieve. We earned our first 10 minutes of bonus recess within two days! The 10 minutes I lost in instruction time for the incentive will be nothing compared to the time I will be gaining by intentionally teaching about being a respectful listener. PLUS… we need to find positives in every situation if we can!
I wish you the best of luck helping your nuggets to be successful & respectful classroom members.
As always, feel free to reach out to me with questions, suggestions, or if you just want to connect.
Updated November 23, 2021
I may have to try Blurt Beans this year! Such a cute idea!
It really works. I really think it is the visual that helps the kids be more mindful.
I love this idea for behavior management! Thanks for sharing!
Hey Kacie,
I have been using blurt beans for 3 years and absolutely love it. I have the book "Lacey Walker, Nonstop Talker" because my maiden name was Lacie Walker! Also, I saw that your name is Kacie with the same ending as my name (Which is the correct spelling!) What a small world! I used to have a PDF with blurt bean labels for both jars and the original creator does not have the PDF on TPT anymore. Is there any way you can email me your file or the link to where you got the labels for your jars. This post brightened my day!
Thank you, Lacie Castillo
I do not know if you have access to my email address: castillo.lacie@franklin-academy.org
Thank you for any information you are willing to share!
Can I get a copy of the blurt bean labels? kroberts@genevacsd.org
Can I get a copy of the labels? allison.dunn@starcityschools.org
I would love a copy of the labels if you could send them! My email is allenh@springfieldpublicschools.com
Thank you!
Could I get a copy of the labels? Such a cute idea. mauldinr@gwd50.org